CH to replace missing seal

CEBU, Philippines — Standing by its declaration that the seal of the Office of the Mayor has gone missing, the city government may have to open a bidding for a new seal.

“We would have to bid out anything that the city needs. That’s the initial plan,” said City Attorney Rey Gealon.

There are reportedly two versions of the seal – one has been with the city for a long time and another was donated by Suarez Brothers company during the time of former mayor Tomas Osmeña. Both versions are reportedly missing.

These two versions were the ones hung on the wall behind the mayor’s desk.

The seal that was seen being used during the inauguration of Mayor Edgardo Labella, Gealon said, is a third version, which is used only as an attachment to the podium the mayor used in his speech.

“As it stands now, we are firm that the seal was stolen and what we have here at City Hall is a seal, which is attached to the podium, which was used during the inauguration. That is not the seal that we are referring to that was stolen. In fact, I already disclosed five stark differences between that seal hang in the Office of the Mayor and that seal used during the inauguration attached to the podium,” Gealon said.

The missing seal has one line below the figure of the Magellan's Cross while the other seal has a checkered design. The missing seal has the year 1521 inscribed under the lines while the other seal has none. The missing seal has a broad depiction of the Magellan's cross while the other seal has a leaner one. The missing seal has a white color under the Magellan's Cross figure while the other has gold in the background. The missing seal has a bigger inscription of the words City of Cebu while the other seal uses a smaller typeface.

Osmeña’s lawyer, Amando Virgil Ligutan, said it was Engr. Mejelito Cajes of the Building and Maintenance Section who reportedly took the seal out of the mayor’s office as indicated in the logbook on June 25,2019.

This is something Osmeña’s camp has to prove to the Ombudsman.

Cajes is the main complainant in the administrative and criminal charges the city government filed against Osmeña and 44 others before the Ombudsman over the missing seal and the “malicious demolition” of the mayor’s office.

Gealon said the seal has to be replaced because it is a symbol of authority and reinforces the mandate the people gave the mayor. This is also the reason why it is placed at the background when the city hosts guests, dignitaries, and VIPs.

In addition, Galeon said Osmeña cannot claim that the version of the seal that Suarez Brothers is his property because “Under the law, any donation to the city is owned by the city.”

“People who are occupying offices in the Cebu City Government are there not on their personal capacity,” Gealon said.

Office

Meanwhile, Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said Osmeña must prove that he owned every part of the mayor’s office that workers stripped off in what the city government described as a “malicious demolition” of the room.

“Pagdating niya naman siguro, may kisame at tsaka may sahig naman yata yang office na yun… ngayon, nakita natin, wasak yung sahig, wasak yung kisame so that is destruction of government property at yung legal services naming, inutusan ko na tingnan pa kung ano pa yung kaso na appropriately na pwede i-file (I’d like to believe that the office has a ceiling and floor when he started using it… now, we saw that the floor has been destroyed, the ceiling has been destroyed… that’s destruction of government property. I have directed our legal services team to check what other charges we can file against him),” Año said of Osmeña.

Año said he is now waiting for the result of the investigation by DILG-7.

“Unang-una, nag-utos ako ng fact finding body pangunahan ng regional director ng Region Seven, si RD Leo Trovela, para kunin talaga yung facts… I understand yung city administrator yata ay nag-file na rin ng complaints so ang gagawin natin ditto, gusto ko i-send ito lahat kasi papasok to sa graft, eh, and we will file the case to the Ombudsman for the appropriate action of the Ombudsman (First of all, instructed DILG-7 led by regional director Trovela to create a fact finding body to get all facts.. I understand the city administrator has filed complaints so I want to send our findings so that the Ombudsman can take the appropriate action),” Año said.

Cajes said the Osmeña, through the workers of Dakay Construction, removed the ceiling installations, cables and wires, tiles, floor and walls, pipes, toilet, lavatory, faucet, the Mayor’s Seal, and other fixtures attached to the immovable property owned by the city government.

This reportedly caused damage to the city amounting to P857,713.14 as stated in the program of works and estimates by the Department of Engineering and Public Works. —  JMO (FREEMAN)